It was 1930, a time when India was the jewel in the colonial crown, when the subcontinent was ruled by a small corps of English bureaucrats. The competition was known as the Empire Games, though even then, the empire had begun to fade.
Today, with India on the eve of opening what is now called the Commonwealth Games, that world is barely a memory. There are times when the former colonial subject speaks of its one-time master with barely hidden condescension.
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FILE -- In this Saturday Aug. 8, 2008 file photo fireworks explode over the National Stadium during opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. China and India are Asian neighbors, rivals and emerging global powers. When it comes to organizing major international sporting events, though, there is no comparison. While China launched its global coming-out party with the spectacular and grandiose Beijing Olympics in 2008, India has endured international embarrassment with the chaotic, last-minute preparations for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, file)
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India Om Prakash singh Karhana competes during the Men's shot put qualification event of the Track and Field competition of the XIX Commonwealth games on October, 6 2010 in New Delhi. The blue-riband athletics program was given the go-head at the Commonwealth Games Wednesday after frantic last-minute repairs to fix the damaged track during Sunday's spectacular opening ceremony. AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)
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UNDERWATER CAMERA PHOTOGRAPH Australian swimmer Matthew Cowdrey competes in the final of the Men's 50 metre freestyle S9 for The Commonwealth Games at The S.P. Mukherjee Aquatics Centre Stadium in New Delhi on October 6, 2010. The Commonwealth Games are taking place in the Indian capital from October 3-14. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT/AFP/Getty Images)
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DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 06: Workers carry out repairs to the main athletics track at the JN Stadium during day three of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games on October 6, 2010 in Delhi, India. (Photo by Graham Crouch/Getty Images)
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DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 06: Althea Charles of Antigua competes in the women's hammer during day three of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 6, 2010 in Delhi, India. (Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)
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DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 03: Entertainers perform during the Opening Ceremony for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 3, 2010 in Delhi, India. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
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DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 05: Samuel Belkin (L) of New Zealand looks on as Teibana Mase of Solomon Islands receives treatment for an injury in the Greco-Roman 96 kg repechage bout at the Inidra Ghandi Sports Complex during day two of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games on October 5, 2010 in Delhi, India. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
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Australia's Joshua Jefferis performs on the rings to win the bronze medal in the men's Individual all-round final during the Commonwealth Games at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
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England's Mark Anthony Lewis-Francis (3rd R) copetes during the Men's 100m qualification event of the Track and Field competition of the XIX Commonwealth games on October, 6 2010 in New Delhi. The blue-riband athletics program was given the go-head at the Commonwealth Games Wednesday after frantic last-minute repairs to fix the damaged track during Sunday's spectacular opening ceremony. AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)
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From L to R : Parasport Shot Put athletes New Zealand's Jess Hamill (silver) Australia Louise Ellery and England Gemma Prescott (bronze) pose with their medals on the podium of the Parasport shot put women final event of the Track and Field competition of the XIX Commonwealth games on October, 6 2010 in New Delhi. Uganda's Moses Kipsiro won the men's 5000m title at the Commonwealth Games with Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge second and Kenyan Mark Kiptoo, third. AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA (Photo credit should read MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images)
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DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 05: Sam Harrison of Wales (L) and Simon Yates of England (R) compete in the Mens Points Race at the IG Sports Complex during day two of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games on October 5, 2010 in Delhi, India. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***
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Gold winner in the men's individual all-round final England's Luke Folwell celebrates after performing his last routine on the Horizontal Bar during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
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Li Karen of New Zealand eyes the ball as she serves to India's Madhurika Suhas Patkar during the table tennis women's team match of the XIX Commonwealth Games at the Yamuna Sports Complex in New Delhi on October 4, 2010. The Commonwealth Games are taking place in the Indian capital October 3-14. AFP PHOTO / Pedro UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)
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Ghana's Seth Degbe Fetrie falls after he misses a lift during the men's 69 kg weightlifting clean and jerk event during the Commonwealth Games at Jawaharlal Nehru sports complex in New Delhi on October 6, 2010. The Indian capital is hosting the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting event in the city since the 1982 Asian Games. AFP PHOTO/ Manpreet ROMANA (Photo credit should read MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Ivan Popov of Australia (L) celebrates after defeating India's Dharmender Dalal (R) in the 120 kg men's wrestling semi-finals at the Indira Gandhi sports Complex during the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi on October 6, 2010. AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN (Photo credit should read RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
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Australia's Georgia Bonora performs on the balancing beam in the gymnastics women's team final event of the Commonwealth Games at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
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Riders from various countries compete in the men's 40 km points race heats at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Oct. 5 , 2010.(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
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From left to right, England's Robert Bale, Australia's Thomas Fraser-Holmes and Scotland's Andrew Hunter dive in the pool as they compete in the men's 4x200m freestyle final at the Commonwealth Games at the Dr. S.P. Mukherjee Aquatics Center in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
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Athletes compete in the Men's 5000m Final of the Track and Field competition of the XIX Commonwealth games on October, 6 2010 in New Delhi. Uganda's Moses Kipsiro won the men's 5000m title at the Commonwealth Games with Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge second and Kenyan Mark Kiptoo, third. AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA (Photo credit should read MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images)
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